Reflections on Teaching English to
Multiple Aged Students in Japan
Justin Dobbin
Teaching English in Japan has had its ups and downs over the years. Between natural disasters, such as the earthquake in 2011 that subsequently released nuclear radiation into the atmosphere, to the 2007−8 world economic decline, studying English has remained a large priority in Japan. Even with the problems some big English teaching companies such as NOVA have had, there still remains a long line of Westerners who want to come to Japan and teach. Likewise, Japanese people, even through all of these events, have not lost their desire to learn English. With the Olympics coming back to Tokyo in 2020, that desire could well be at an all-time high.
My Interest in Teaching
My interest in teaching began when I was in high school. As part
of my school’s business education curriculum, all third year students (my school, as did many schools in the U.S. at that time, had a four year system, as opposed to the three year system in place here in Japan) were given the opportunity to do “Career Shadowing”. Similar to the system used by junior high schools here in Japan, “Career Shadowing” was a program to help students begin looking into what they wanted to do as a career. We were given a list of possible work places that we could visit. Each student chose the field that interested him or her, and spent two or three days “shadowing” the people who worked there. The program was of course intended to be a learning experience, so students were required to write a report about their experiences, and how they felt about them. Finally, we were asked to write whether or not we still thought we wanted to pursue a job in that field after seeing what it was like in real time.
The career I chose to shadow was that of an elementary school teacher. At the time I had a keen interest in working with children, but I didn’t have much experience with them. My younger sister is five years younger than me, and although we played together on occasion when we were younger, by the time I reached high school, we didn’t spend much time together. While some families have lots of extended family around, all of my cousins were older, and lived far away. Likewise, while some families live in crowded neighborhoods, with numerous children running around, my family literally lived on the top of a mountain, and we were a 20 minute walk to the closest neighbor.
Therefore, the biggest reason I chose to shadow an elementary school teacher is because the teacher was my basketball coach. Not only had he been coaching us in various sports since we ourselves had been in elementary school, but at the time of my career shadowing, he was
one of the coaches of our high school team. The fact that he had been coaching us in various sports for so long is a big factor into why I was interested in shadowing him. He was a mentor to us, and the chance to see what he does the rest of the day, outside of practice, greatly appealed to me. Also, teaching a class of 30 nine and ten year olds sounded much easier than banking or real estate.
It was with that mindset that I entered the classroom. It was shortly after I entered the class that I came to realize that playing with a couple of kids on the playground, and teaching a group of 30 children in the classroom is quite different. I came to realize that managing 30 different personalities while trying to instruct them is not for the feint at heart. Mostly, I came to realize that teaching multiple subjects to children five days a week for nine months requires an immense amount of preparation. While I was realizing all these things which were negative to my 17 year old mind, I also witnessed the faces of the children when they made an educational break through, and could understand the difficult math problem they were struggling with. I also witnessed how the children would come together as a group to solve a collaborative learning problem, or to help a friend. Seeing these things reminded of when I was a kid, and have remained with me to this day.
Also included in my high school’s business curriculum was a group which went to business competitions. The competitions were broken into several categories, and I competed in the Hotel and Resort Management category. In the competitions, each contestant was given a series of problems which they were required to solve, as well as a series of goals/ tasks which they were required to accomplish. The competitions were held first at the local level, with winners of the local competitions moving on to a state competition (held over a weekend in a fancy mountain
resort). I had some success in these competitions and was able to attend the state competitions two of my four years in high school. It was because of this success, that I entered university as a business major. I was hoping that I would be able to have the same success in the real world that I had experienced in the competitions. It was in my second year of university when I realized that calculus was part of the business curriculum. Having had a very difficult time with algebra, the prospect of having any success at all in calculus was looking very dim. It was at that time that I remembered the positive points of my career shadowing experience, and decided to change to a course which would lead me to becoming a teacher. I chose to major in English, and then pursue a teaching license after graduation.
Along with changing my major, I also decided to change schools. This would not have been a very popular decision, or even a possibility with my parents, except for the fact that the school I was hoping to transfer to was the same school that my mother had attended and eventually graduated from. While still not a popular choice with my father, in the end it was my mother who made the final decision, and I went. In the end, it was this decision which led me to Japan.
By changing majors, it became necessary for me to take some extra entry level English courses. With my trouble in math, it became necessary to earn extra remedial math course credits in order to graduate. If I had stayed at my original school, these extra courses could have been made up in one semester or even less. However, because I transferred, it required an extra year. Therefore, instead of graduating in the standard four years, it took me five years to finish. However, I consider myself very lucky, because my parents were able to, and willing to pay for my university education. However, they drew the line at four
years. For the final year, I was required to take out a student loan. It was that student loan which made the prospect of going right back to school after graduation very difficult. It was because the prospect of going right back to school was so difficult, that my father suggested that I take a year off and try teaching abroad.
At that time, my father’s good friend’s son had been teaching in South Korea, and had been living very comfortably, while still being able to save a sizable amount of money. Because of this, I went to a TOESL/ TOEFL school. While at this school, I interviewed with and was hired by a company which sent me to Hakuoh University, and my tenure in Japan officially began. While I always had visions of returning and pursuing a career in teaching back in the U.S., life would get in the way and keep me here to this day.
My Teaching History in Japan
Upon graduating in May of 1997 with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in English, I began my teaching career in Japan at Hakuoh University. I was working for a company that contracted teachers to teach English Conversation classes to university students during the free time in their schedules. I was not teaching classes as part of the universities curriculum, but rather a class that students signed up for to take in their spare time. Therefore, the majority of the students had motivation to learn (as they were paying extra money to take the class). While I enjoyed the classes and the students, the company wanted to rotate teachers as often as possible, and so I was only able to work for two years. They were a great two years, and I came to love Japan as I was working there, so when they told me that my contract would
be terminated, I began the search for another employer. That search led me to a company that contracted teachers to teach at Japanese kindergartens. At last, my career turned in the direction that I had envisioned from the time of my high school “Career Shadowing” experience.
In this new company, I not only taught kindergarten aged children, but I taught elementary school children as well. I had enjoyed teaching university students. At that time, I was 23 years old. I was very close to the students’ age, and because of that, I became friends with many of the Hakuoh students. However, teaching children brought me back in touch with the initial interest I had for teaching. Teaching the kindergarten children was challenging, but I was able to get motivation from their energy. Teaching to elementary school children is much about becoming part of a team.
I spent two years with my first company. After my second year, I was recruited by a start-up company that was in the same business. I joined that company and spent two years there as well. After that, I was hired by a Japanese kindergarten, and spent eight years there as the sole foreign employee. It was with this kindergarten that I gained the majority of my experience, not just in teaching English, but also in how Japanese schools think about the care of children. I taught elementary school students at this job also. All of the elementary students I taught there were students who had graduated from the kindergarten. So I was able to experience first-hand the differences between the kindergarten and the elementary school. Most of them were obvious, but some were very interesting.
Teaching to Kindergarten Children
Kindergarten children became, and remain to this day by far my favorite age group to teach. First of all, their enthusiasm and energy are the most prevalent of all age groups. Young children learn by observing and experiencing. For that reason, kindergarten children become the most involved physically. Because their brains are still processing and recording data on a daily basis, they are very quick to repeat, and repeat well. It is said that until the age of eight, the brain does not decide on a mother tongue. The synapses remain open to other languages. The brain is still learning to perfect motor skills such as walking, jumping and running, and language is another motor skill that is still being developed. For this reason, most of the children I have been involved with, do not see the English classes as learning, but rather as their Japanese name suggests, Eigo asobi, or English Play. Most children have a great enthusiasm to join in the class. They are not hampered by social pressures to control themselves. Older students may feel that attempting an answer that may be wrong will lead to negative comments from their peers, but on a whole, kindergarten children do not feel the pressure to voice only correct answers. This leads to a barrage of all kinds of answers, but usually results in a very lively and vocal class.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, children are children. As such, they have a tendency to become distracted. Keeping the attention of kindergarten children is definitely one of, if not the biggest challenge in teaching that age group. Achieving this requires a teacher to have a plethora of quick attention grabbing activities. If children become distracted, it is usually because the teacher is not holding their attention. This is the case in all teaching for sure, but with kindergarten children,
it is a very crucial point. Where older students will stare off into the distance, or in many cases with junior high or university students, fall asleep, kindergarten children will begin to move. There have been many classes where my preparation was not sufficient, which caused students to wander around the class, and in some cases, talk to and even accost students sitting next to them. Finding a balance of play and learning is the greatest challenge in teaching to kindergarten children. If that balance is achieved, the feedback from the students is instantaneous. Where older students may tell you quietly in a private moment that they enjoyed your class, kindergarten students do not hide their emotions, and often, will shout out their approval. “That was fun!” or “This teacher is so funny!” are comments I have often heard after successful classes. The instant gratification of teaching a kindergarten class one of the things I find greatly satisfying.
Teaching Elementary School Children
Because of the six year gap between first grade students and sixth grade students in elementary school, there is obviously a big difference between the types of activities that the classes will enjoy. Where first grade classes will be entertained by activities similar to kindergarten children, sixth grade children will not. While first grade children will often forget something they had studied in the previous week’s class, sixth graders will usually retain most of what they have learned. Because the brain’s synapses decide their course at the age of eight, first through third grade children usually have classes which are a bit more active and energetic. Fourth to sixth grade children begin to feel peer pressure, as their bodies begin to enter adolescence. Therefore, the classes become
a bit more subdued, with less play, and more rote learning. This is not to say that older children do not enjoy games, but the types of games certainly change.
Another thing that I have found to have happen is that older children are able to participate in, and be successful in an English only environment. Even when I have attempted this with kindergarten children, and younger elementary school children, the results were mixed. However, with older elementary school children, the children came to appreciate the effort they had to give, and made more of an effort to follow the rules. For the most part, my older students enjoyed coming up with, and using their own “English” names. Most even insisted on using that name outside of class as well as in class.
Teaching Junior High School Students
By the time children reach junior high school, many have experienced peer pressure, and have bowed to it on occasion. Also, in junior high school, many will enter puberty. The combination of peer pressure and puberty makes a huge difference when learning. The habit of remaining silent after being asked a question begins for some in upper elementary school, but by junior high school, it becomes the norm. The fear of making a wrong answer seems to overtake the exhilaration of trying, and therefore most junior high classes that I have been involved with, are wrought with uncomfortable silences.
After having spent most of my teaching career trying to quiet the class down, these awkward silences were a big shock to me. It requires a whole other set of skills to carry out a successful junior high school class, the most important of which is patience. Hurrying an answer from
a student will do no good, so having the patience to coax the answer out of the student is paramount. The lesson must be interesting enough to engage the students, but there must be a comfort level which will allow the shy students to speak. Speaking in front of people can be a challenge for anyone, but for a junior high school student, it can be horrifying. Finding activities which can ease students into speaking is difficult, but must be achieved.
Teaching University Students
My first job when I came to Japan was teaching at the university level. For this reason, I thought the transition from teaching at the kindergarten level would be much easier. I taught university for two years, and enjoyed the work immensely. When I was searching for another job after my contract expired, I was actually hoping to find another job at the university level because it was so fun. However, I was not able to find anything at the university level in the location that I was looking for, and ended up teaching kindergarten children.
That first job was teaching English Conversation classes at Hakuoh University. I did not work directly for Hakuoh University, but rather at a company which contracted English Conversation classes to universities, high schools and junior high schools all across Japan. The classes were not part of the university curriculum, but rather extra-curricular. The students signed up for these extra classes in between, or after their regularly scheduled classes. For that reason, they had more motivation than students who are taking courses which are required for graduation. The extra-curricular classes I was teaching were for between five and 10 students. The classroom was large enough for the students
to move around and have conversations with multiple students. The students sat at small desks that left plenty of room for this movement. For this reason, along with the students’ motivation, the students were usually engaged in the lesson. Because they were engaged, I was able to try a number of different activities. Some activities were directed towards having fun, some were more directed toward rote learning. The students were interested and participated in both types of activities. The classes I am teaching now are part of the regular university curriculum. The students must take and pass these classes to meet Hakuoh University’s graduation requirements. The first year students I am teaching are very motivated. They attend class on a regular basis and they participate well in the activities. The other students that I am teaching are students who have failed the class once, and are taking it a second time. These students are less motivated, often absent, and do not participate at the level of the first year students. The classroom I am teaching in is filled with tables, and does not allow for free movement. The students spend the whole class in their chairs, as there is very little open space.
University students are for the most part, able to read and understand English. Most students also have a good base vocabulary. Most are able to participate in simple reading and conversation activities. There were activities that most students especially enjoyed in the extra-curricular classes. One was “conversation stations.” In this activity, several topics such as favorite type of music or talking about your family are written on cards and placed around the room. The students work in pairs, and move to each station, speaking about the subject for a pre-determined amount of time. When the time is up, they rotate to another station, and begin again. Another favorite activity for university learners
was “English Jeopardy.” Jeopardy is a popular American game show, where contestants choose questions worth increasing amounts of points. The contestants do not choose by the question itself, but rather how many points they want to try for. Questions become more difficult as the amount of points becomes larger. English Jeopardy works the same way, with students choosing questions by the amount of points, knowing that questions worth more points are more difficult. Because the questions are unknown, there is a good amount of excitement involved.
Unlike the extra-curricular classes that I taught at the beginning of my career, the classes that I am teaching now are very crowded and there is no room to move around. While they may enjoy an activity like Conversation Stations, there is not enough space to do it. Instead, we are using a textbook. While the text book has many different reading and writing activities, they do not lead to free conversation as well as the other past activities did. However, the first year students participate in and seem to enjoy the text activities more than the older students. For whatever reason, their motivation is higher, and they get more out of the class than their elders.
Conclusion
Teaching students who are motivated to, or who really want to learn, is very satisfying, and rather easy. Teaching students who have low motivation, or are only there because they are required to be, is a great challenge of teaching. Finding the educational balance of fun and learning is not an easy thing to do. There are so many factors: classroom size, number of students, differences in the students’ ability and difference in the students’ motivation are only a few of the many
problems which must be solved. However, taking all those factors into consideration and carrying out a successful class is one of the best feelings in the world. The look on student’s faces when they make a breakthrough, or have genuinely enjoyed the class is what motivates me to continue teaching, even to vastly different age levels.
